Ticked Off

I subscribe to the Nation magazine because politically, I am left leaning.  I have always been opposed to the Republican brand of governance which seems only to favor the wealthy and big corporations.  I consider myself an independent but I will be voting for Obama again in 2012.  The Nation is a good magazine.  The articles are insightful and intelligently written.  I feel like reading the Nation gives me a side of the news that I won't see on television.

Upon subscribing to the Nation, I started noticing ads and fund raising material for every liberal cause in America coming to my house.  Recently I received something to help elect a gay congresswoman.  While my political leanings are leftist, I am very much conservative socially.  I don't support gay marriage, I don't agree with abortion while I do believe that a woman can do whatever she chooses- I won't answer for them at the judgment, they will answer for themselves.  I do not agree with the way the right uses abortion as a hot button issue and how they think they have the market cornered on morality.  There are other sins like overlooking the poor, arrogance and pride that those on the "right" glibly look over in favor of homosexuality and abortion.  I don't agree with the death penalty either which is another favorite issue on the right. 

I think it is funny that in America where there are choices for everything, people are pigeonholed according to the way they vote.  It is my understanding that "liberals" are by default atheistic according to popular culture.  They don't believe in God, they simply believe in helping their fellow man and doing good to those that are in need.  They believe, according to the right's definition, that morality doesn't have to be based on the bible or the 10 commandments but based on the heart of man.  One of the atheist's favorite musings is the ability to live a "moral" life absent from God.  While that may be possible, it does nothing to address the sinfulness of mankind nor does it address the debt that we all owe because of that sinfulness.

I think that the last straw and my last issue of the Nation came on Tuesday.  I received a solicitation for a magazine called "Blasphemous" which, I assume, is a magazine geared towards atheists.  What ticked me off about this is the fact that my information would be given to the publisher of this magazine without knowing whether or not  I was an atheist.  I guess the people that control the distribution of subscriber information assumed that because I was a subscriber to the Nation I was also an atheist.  I was offended.  The magazine touted itself as "intelligent" as if someone that believes in God is unintelligent.  The very word intelligent is derived from a Latin word, intelligentia, that means the ability to discern.  In other words intelligence means that I have the power and the ability to choose when presented with different options. 

While I choose to vote left that does not mean that my social or even my religious views are "liberal".  I made the choice to subscribe to the nation because I am intelligent enough to filter out what they print.  If it does not align with my spiritual sensibilities, I do not allow it into my mental environment.  Not that I will not accept a logical and sensible argument but when it calls for me to blindly accept someone's word/opinion about God over what I know to be true I push it to the side.  My uncle always tells me to listen with a shovel and a rake.  Use the rake to bring what is good to me and a shovel to push what is bad away from me.  The Apostle Paul said it better in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "test everything, hold fast to that which is good."  If there is something that makes sense after examination, I will accept it otherwise, it goes onto the scrap heap.

I enjoy reading the Nation because I like the political arguments and the great analysis of complex social issues.  I do not appreciate getting solicitation for atheist communications in the mail.  I would never subscribe to such a magazine and while I know that the Nation is not screening my information and they have no way of knowing my religious beliefs- but that doesn't change the fact that I was highly offended by this latest solicitation.  It was promptly thrown into the trash.  My main beef with atheists is this:  Just because you don't believe in God, don't try to sway other well meaning people away from God.  I was listening to NPR radio and they were discussing the death of Christopher Hitchens.  The host asked callers to call in and discuss a way that Hitchens changed their lives.  One man called in and said that whatever religious beliefs that he had before reading the work of Hitchens were dismissed after being exposed to Hitchens' work.  I thought that was really sad.  If these two were co-defendants in God's court, this would be tantamount to saying "thanks for making sure that I go to hell with you brother!"  Another caller promptly called in and said that Hitchens was the "lowest piece of scum on earth."  I was not even familiar with Hitchens before he died but reading excerpts from "god is not GREAT" he was a great orator, even if his opinions were off base.

The publishers of "Blasphemous" have every right, according to the 1st Amendment, to print and say whatever they please.  They do not have a right to send it to my house.  For atheists, you have every right to believe what you want to.  I won't argue with you because every atheist that I've ever encountered already knows EVERYTHING and are immediately looking to intimidate and insult me because I am "foolish" enough to believe in God.  While it is my sincere desire for everyone to come to the knowledge of Christ and receive the free gift of salvation, I know that everyone will not accept this.  There will always be those that refuse to accept the grace of God.  That's not novel, and definitely not worth having a magazine devoted to it.